Return of the Ghost of the 31 Days of Cheese - Day 28 - King Kong Vs. Godzilla

I had planned on doing the 1998 film – known sarcastically as Ferris Buller Meets Godzilla – but I dislike that film so intensely that my ‘review’ would be nothing but a stream of invective, fun for me perhaps but not really what I’m trying to do here – so King Kong Vs Godzilla it is.

With the success of Mortha Toho decided it was time to resurrect the King of Monsters who had been left frozen buried in tons of ice after the end of the disappointing Godzilla Raid Again in 1955.

In the meantime they had also paid out about 200,000 dollars to RKO for the rights to use King Kong. For Toho to pay that much was rather unheard of it was studio known as the saying went for a U.S. producer ‘tossing nickels around like they were manhole covers.”  So as the ending of a very convoluted story they revived Godzilla from his icy prison, made it in color and pulled out all the stops.

By this the Japanese monster film was taking on a very distinctive form and shape,  King Kong vs. Godzilla had elements of social satire and comedy that unless one was rather familiar with Japanese films or society would go over ones head. At least this was the thought of the US Distributors Universal  - and the original Godzilla had had Raymond Burr inserted into the film to give American audiences someone to follow as the action unfolded (along with cutting the more edgy comments about atomic testing and Nagasaki that were in the Japanese  (Original).

Compared to the rather discreet cutting done on the prior year’s Mothra – Universal took a meat cleaver to the film – as if they took a Japanese meal and added Cheese Whiz.

The film has two major plot threads – one of course is the resurrection of Godzilla – with an unfortunate US/UN Submarine being the first victims of the awakened beast – along with a nearby military base which is promptly stomped into the ground.  He does some more damage and then heads out to sea for a bit.

There is of course no continuity in the US version as far as it is concerned this is the first appearance of Godzilla – there are constant badly written and acted scenes in the American version featuring  talk back and forth between a New York Studio and Japan – along with a moment where a scientific expert is holding a children’s book on dinosaurs to explain Godzilla.

Also most of the original music was peeled off and replaced with library soundtrack music including the fairly distinctive Creature From the Black Lagoon theme.

The second plot involves a pharmaceutical company going to Kong’s island to find Kong – in the original this was a riff on a Toho series of ‘salaryman’ comedies that were popular at the time – it’s even in the original Japanese version a bit of a jarring note but again here the changes make it more as it’s played for silly comedy – again not that the original is much less serious but well it just flows better.

Anyway they find Kong of course – and well Kong aside from being a lot bigger than he was in 1933 – is rather a disappointment – as good as Toho’s special effects suit people where – and they were at this time pretty near the peak of their abilities – before budget cuts ate into their work – they never seemed to be able to do fur right – And the Kong suit  just looks mangy as hell.

Kong is captured – knocked out by a secret red berry juice that Kong chugs down like he’s shot gunning beer – and put on a raft but just as they are reach Japan the ape wakes up – the try to blow him up but it doesn’t work. ( A much more elaborate attempt to blow up Godzilla also fails as well ).

There is a set piece with Kong standing on the diet building – followed by a moment of high Toho oddness – where an unconscious Kong (they drugged him again – they never think of trying to drug Godzilla one notices) is lifted into the air with the aid of a lot of balloons and once air borne is towed by Helicopters to where Godzilla is and dropped on top of him.

The climatic fight is well rather anti-climatic even with all sorts of effects and moves and the sense that the kitchen sink was tossed in as well.  The fight in the next Film Godzilla vs. Mothra would be much more effective.

In the end the monsters fall off a cliff into the water – Kong emerges – and if you think the suit doesn’t look good dry it’s even worse when wet – and starts swimming home. Godzilla is nowhere to be seen.

A rumor was that in the Japanese version Godzilla wins but having seen the Japanese version I can vouch that it’s not true – Godzilla’s the heavy in this film as he would be in the next one.

The elements don’t jell right, but it makes up for that in just sheer energy and it was the most successful of the Godzilla films in terms of Box office for Toho.

Enjoy with Philadelphia Sushi Roll.